All Black Everything

J Cole and Kendrick Lamar confirms joint album

Two of the hottest hip hopers working on joint album!

Marissa Alexander Sentenced To 20 YEARS In Prison

Marissa Alexander had been sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a gun over the head of her abusive husband during a violent confrontation in 2010.

Alexander claimed that during the fight she’d fled to her garage, but was unable to open its electronic door. She then grabbed a gun that she’d stashed there and returned to the kitchen, where she fired a shot above her husband’s head. Her husband was standing with his two sons at the time of the shooting.

Despite widespread protests and calls for Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law to be evoked in Alexander’s favor, the judge ruled against her. According to the Grio, the judge felt that “by returning to the house, she demonstrated that she was not in fear for her life.”

But for many it is still not clear why the infamous “Stand Your Ground” law could not be used as a defense for Alexander, especially when considering her ex-husband’s record of domestic abuse.

Malcolm X Grassroots Movement 2012 Spring Newsletter

A message to the grassroots.  “The community newsletter for self respect, self determination, and self defense!”

Banda, Sirleaf Pave Way for More African Female Leaders

Joyce Banda’s swearing in as president of Malawi last month made her the second female head of state in Africa - following Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s election victory in Liberia in 2005. Many see this as a key advance for women on a continent that has been dominated by male political figures.

Is Kenya Becoming the Economic Heartbeat of Africa?

When Kenya’s newly announced geothermal power generation project comes online, it will turn the East African country into an economic powerhouse in the region.

In April, the government launched the Menengai Geothermal Development Project, the first initiative of its newly formed Geothermal Development Company, which has been set up to fast track the development of geothermal resources here.

According to its chief executive officer, Dr. Silas Simiyu, by 2016 the first phase will generate 400 MW, which is enough to light up 500,000 households and run 300,000 small businesses.

“It is situated 180 kilometres northwest of Nairobi, and will have a capacity to produce 1,600 MW of electricity by the time we implement all three phases in 2030,” said Simiyu.

According to Nashon Adero, a policy and economic analyst at the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, the first phase of the project will have a significant impact on the country as it moves towards industrialisation.

Jasmine Thar Case Draws Comparisons to Trayvon Martin; Why Hasn’t Her Killer Been Charged?

Last December, 16 year-old Jasmine Thar was visiting family in North Carolina when a single bullet struck her, as well as her aunt and cousin. While the other two women survived, Jasmine died from her injuries.

The shooter, James Anthony Blackwell, lived across the street. He claimed his 700 model Remington rifle went off by accident. The local police believed him, and Blackwell was released without any charges being filed against him.

Thar’s family is outraged that Blackwell has not been charged. They point to the implausibility of a single bullet, fired by accident, going through a window and hitting three different people; as well as the fact that Blackwell, a white man, had confederate flags and Nazi readings and memorabilia in his bedroom, as proof that there might have been a far more sinister motive behind the shooting.

April 29th marked the 20th anniversary of the LA rebellion, a response to decades of police brutality that culminated in the video tapped beating of Rodney King and a not guilty verdict for the offending officers. VH1 did a very good documentary of the rebellion and the role of Hip-Hop called Uprising: Hip Hop and The LA Riots, which can be viewed in it’s entirety online.

About Students Against Mass Incarceration (SAMI
SAMI was founded in February 2011 at Howard University. The mission of the organization is to raise awareness about the prison industrial complex, political prisoners, and recidivism. We feel the aforementioned are the fundamental issues of our generation and can only be addressed through radical and militant Black activism linked to previous social movements but revised for a 21st century context. 

Vision
The vision of SAMI is to help build a movement for the complete abolition of all prisons and freedom for all people imprisoned for their political beliefs and actions.